A typical loading dock of a building includes an exterior doorway with an elevated platform for loading and unloading vehicles such as trucks and trailers. Many loading docks have a dock leveler to compensate for a height difference that may exist between the loading dock platform and an adjacent bed of a truck or trailer. A dock leveler often includes a deck that is hinged along its back edge so that the deck can pivotally adjust the height of its front edge to an elevation that generally matches the height of the rear edge of the truck or trailer bed. The deck usually has an extendible lip at its front edge that is extended to rest upon the trailer bed to form a bridge between the deck and the bed. This allows personnel and material handling equipment, such as a forklift truck, to readily move on and off the trailer during loading and unloading operations.
The hinge area at the rear edge of the deck, unfortunately, can present a surface interruption or discontinuity. As the wheels of material handling equipment roll over this area, the surface interruption can jar the moving equipment and its driver.